Busta Rhymes, aka Trevor Smith, Jr. – Visit the Official Busta Rhymes Website. Busta Rhymes is associated with Aftermath, also the current label for Bishop Lamont. I’ve worked on some of the ProTools sessions for Bishop and now have some material in the works with BR’s crew, so we’ll see what happens. In the meantime you can also visit my free hip hop battle forum at RapDogs.com – one of the net’s first public battle forums.
I got into a little situation with a hip hop crew a while back, and it wasn’t pretty. My close friends know about it, nothing I’m going to post publicly. I said I’d never do hip hop again……but it’s just too much dang fun. And besides, how many Norwegian Protestants do you know doing hip hop? Stay tuned….
Trevor Tahiem Smith, Jr. (born on May 20, 1972), better known as Busta Rhymes, is an American hip hop musician and actor. Chuck D of Public Enemy gave him the name Busta Rhymes (from former NFL football player George “Buster” Rhymes) after watching him perform.
In November of 2005, Busta Rhymes cut off his trademark dreadlocks during a photo shoot in a New York barbershop owned by producer Cory Rooney. The shop is featured on an MTV show titled The Shop. “I started growing [my hair] in December ’89. I was 17,†he said. “I signed my [record] deal and said I ain’t combing my hair no more. I don’t have to.” He says the haircut was symbolic of a change in his music and the new record deal.
2006 has seen the release of his seventh studio album, The Big Bang. The CD became his first #1 album of his entire career. The CD sold over 209,000 copies in its first week to earn the top spot on the charts. The album also became his highest charting album in the UK, peaking at #19 there. Some of the album was leaked on the internet, and as a result several songs were left off the album and new ones added. The Big Bang featured more production by Dr. Dre than Busta’s previous releases and appearances by Raekwon and Nas. The singles that have been released from the album are, “Touch It”, “I Love My Chick”, featuring Kelis and Will.I.Am of The Black Eyed Peas, “New York Shit” featuring Swizz Beatz and “In the Ghetto”, featuring Rick James. Busta also had a stint opening for Carey’s Adventures of Mimi Tour.
Photo I took from the stage while playing with Freddy Fender.
Sometimes people ask me how famous Freddy was. My mind flashes back to some of the shows – hundreds, sometimes thousands, of people all worked up to a frenzy. All ages in one room, spellbound by Freddy. Makes me smile.
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SAN BENITO — How famous was Freddy Fender?
The varied collection of awards and accolades that he amassed in his lifetime and the popularity of his music worldwide are evidence that Fender was more than a regional source of pride.
While not necessarily the standard barometer of fame, Fender was deemed prominent enough to be spoofed on “Saturday Night Live,” a television show that normally caters to young viewers. Horatio Sanz, a regular player on “SNL,” did his impression of Fender in the “Derek Jeter’s Taco Hole” skit on Dec. 1, 2001.
Fender actually made several television appearances, mostly as himself, on “The Tonight Show,” “American Bandstand,” the “Dukes of Hazzard,” “Hee Haw” and “Austin City Limits,” among others.
More recently, Fender’s “Before the Next Teardrop Falls” was included in the soundtrack for “The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada,” a film by Tommy Lee Jones in which the main characters form a friendship, in part, due to their mutual appreciation for Fender’s song.
From 1975 to 2002, Fender was nominated for five Grammy Awards in six different categories, winning once for “Best Latin Pop” (“La Musica de Baldemar Huerta” in 2002) and twice for “Best Mexican/American Performance,” (for “Los Super Seven” in 1999 and “Texas Tornados” in 1990).
In San Benito, his birthplace, city leaders dedicated an elevated water storage tank bearing his likeness on June 4, 2005, Fender’s 67th birthday. In anticipation of the event, Fender acknowledged his supporters in a statement posted on his official Web site, www.freddyfender.com:
“God has embraced me many times when I was most in need of him,” he wrote. “Thank you many times friends and fans from all over the world for all your prayers, dedication and loyalty. See you in San Benito for the lighting of the H20 tower.”
In 2005, music distributor Direct Source replaced Thomas Jefferson’s face on Mount Rushmore with Fender’s on its “Rancho Grande” compilation of the singer’s music. Fender was widely lauded abroad as well as in his homeland in more serious ways. According to Fender’s Web site, he was inducted into the European Walk of Fame in 1993. In 1999 he got a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in Nashville.
He was also inducted into various music halls of fame in Louisiana, Texas and others around the globe.
As part of its farewell to the 20th century in 2000, the Orange County Register placed Fender 18th on its list of “Most Important Latin Artists of the Century.”
According to his Web site, Fender performed at inaugural balls for Presidents George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton and Texas Gov. Ann Richards. Among the “career performances” also listed on Fender’s site are playing for President Jimmy Carter at the White House and performances at the Montreaux Jazz Festival in Switzerland, at Wrigley Field during Chicago Cubs games in 1981 and 1986, at Carnegie Hall and at the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in 1975.
The Internet has proved to be a significant role player in keeping Fender’s legacy alive. Most of Fenders albums are widely available online, with sale and auction listings for new and used copies of his compact discs posted on such Web sites as E-bay.com, Amazon.com, Overstock.com and Wal-Mart.com.
In some cases, individual songs or entire albums can be downloaded directly onto personal computers and MP3 players. Several of Fender’s songs can even be used as ring tones for mobile phones. Online purveyors of Fender’s songs hawk them in English and Spanish as well as in German, Dutch and Chinese, among other languages.
His fans were as varied as his last concert appearances, which included shows in Wisconsin, Washington, New Mexico, Oklahoma, California, Arizona and Nevada, according to his online calendar.
Fender resided in Corpus Christi, but he spent his last days as a musician on the road — mainly outside Texas. His last scheduled performances were listed as a private party in Houston on Dec. 3 and a concert at Steven’s Steakhouse in Commerce on Dec. 31 of last year. But his old bandmates Augie Myers and Charlie Rich, Jr. had to substitute.
The failure of Fender’s Web site administrator to update the calendar section prompted numerous messages from visitors for more information on Fender’s performances and prognosis.
Many of his fans incorporated his lyrics into their messages to the singer. One such entry was left by Judy Damato of Branford, Conn., who recently wondered publicly about Fender’s health in a message on the singer’s online guestbook.
“Please, whoever updates this site, is Freddy alright? I see no bookings on his calendar,” she wrote on Feb. 20. “Is he back in the hospital? Please at least let his fans know that he is OK. No one could ever take his place.
“He must be a kind, loving person to be able to touch so many hearts of people he’s never met,” she continued. “Please give us an update on what he is doing or how he’s doing; and could you do it before the next teardrop falls?” Daniel Ordaz
Valley Morning Star
If he brings you happiness
Then i wish you all the best
It’s your happiness that matters most of all
But if he ever breaks your heart
If the teardrops ever start
I’ll be there before the next teardrop falls
Si te quire de verdad
Y te da felicidad
Te deseo lo mas bueno pa’los dos
Pero si te hace llorar
A mime puedes hablar
Y estare contigo cuando treste estas
I’ll be there anytime
You need me by your side
To drive away every teardrop that you cried
And if he ever leaves you blue
Just remember, I love you
And I’ll be there before the next teardrop falls
And I’ll be there before the next teardrop falls
Freddy Fender has “incurable” cancer.
This is pretty shocking. I learned about this news, ironically, at my guitar forum Fender-Talk.com . We used to joke sometimes that the forum wasn’t really about Fender guitars, but a Freddy Fender fan club forum. Some of the members there have even gone to Freddy Fender shows with me as we travelled across the US. I toured with Freddy from 1996 to March of 2005 – 9 years.
I noticed in the article that Vangie (his wife) did not ask doctors how long Freddy has to live. I thought that was very classy, and typical of Vangie – who is the ultimate in class. When I stopped playing with Freddy I figured someday I would see some news on CNN that things had ended, just didn’t know it would be this soon.
The #1 question I get from people about Freddy is “what’s he REALLY like?” – And with that question starts the magic of Freddy Fender. I got to see Freddy for nine years backstage, at each town’s fanciest restaurant, in little dive greasy spoons as we made our way from gig to gig on an endless search for the world’s best Menudo. The answer to the question is: Freddy was really like how people see him onstage. That’s what makes him a star. He is honest and open.
Many of the musicians in his group far surpassed his music knowledge 100x over. But he was the star. He knows how to relate to an audience and how to create the magic in a song. That was the biggest lesson I learned from Freddy, it’s not what you know – it’s what you do with it. And with every song he gave it all he had – every time.
One day we were having lunch just the two of us, don’t remember where it was – but I remember he was eating Menudo (which is always a safe bet with Freddy!). I asked him about his battle with alcohol, about becoming sober and clean through AA – and what he had learned. He quickly got VERY serious – leaned in intently and said “I learned two things. I learned there IS a God, and I ain’t him.” Then he started laughing uncontrollable in his chortle giggle, another Freddy trademark.
I think of that a lot. There IS a God, and I ain’t him. Simple words to live by. Freddy was very simple, in some ways almost naive like a child. I think that’s part of the reason so many millions of people love him.
I also remember doing a gig with Freddy in Northern Minnesota. We were chuckling because we knew there would be no one there. Who’s heard of Freddy in Northern Minnesota. To our surprise there was about 5,000 people – all standing outside in the cold for the concert. Another learning experience for us, and another lesson in learning why Freddy is truly the “King of Tex Mex”.
Freddy would call me “El Blanco” – I have very white skin. And it was always a little comical that I was playing with a Hispanic Grammy winner – because I’m about as white as they come: Full blooded Norwegian Lutheran from Seattle. He was usually fair with me, and the few times he wasn’t – I understand his point of view and would have done the same if I had been in his shoes. A band on the road becomes a family with seven wives, and there would be spats – but I know the entire band was proud in their heart’s that we were playing with the real deal, the original.
You can find all the bio info on Freddy through Google – how he started in 1959, was the first Hispanic crossover artist, first artist on Hispanic, Country and Pop charts at the same time. Also look up Baldemar Huerta, his real name. Story goes they were trying to think of a stage name for him – in typical simple Freddy fashion he just looked at his guitar neck and said “Fender” – then thought Freddy went well with that. Don’t know if the story’s really true like that – but I always liked the story so never asked. It’s a keeper.
Every once in a while at a Freddy gig someone would come up who thought it was Freddy who built the Fender guitar. (Wrong Fender – it was Leo Fender). One show in particular there was someone who had driven hundreds of miles and absolutely would not believe me that Freddy did not invent the Fender guitar. They walked away very sad when they realized the truth. So in the future I never corrected people when they said that – thought I’d let them keep that story – just like I want to keep the story around Freddy’s name.
People have an image of road musicians that’s not entirely accurate – so I’d like to set the record straight. Ok, we party a bit here and there – but usually we would finish a gig at 11:30pm – then be rushed to the hotel room – have to mellow out for some sleep so we could get up at 5am to catch the next flight. Truth is, most of the time we were just trying to catch up on sleep – or maybe that was just me. Amazingly, Freddy was ALWAYS up and alert – the rest of us would be snoozing and he would be talking away – didn’t matter if it was 4am. I was always a little bit jealous that he had partied so much in his life – but had so much stamina. He is truly a “road dog”.
I had always wanted to arrange a CD for him with a real orchestra. Take his classics and really do them classy. He did something like that with the CD he won a Grammy for in 2002 – all classic arrangements with hand percussion and nylon string guitars. So now that I’m conducting so many different orchestras, I’ll pretend from time to time that Freddy is onstage singing.
I remember the one time Freddy got very mad at me. We were playing in Stateline Nevada (Think it’s called Jean, NV now) and we were practicing with him the song Margaritaville. In the verses he would always drop a couple beats. So in all my musical wisdom I thought he would really appreciate me pointing this out to him, and I was so surprised no one in the band was saying anything. As I started to speak up I could see two band members behind Freddy giving me the “slit throat” signs to shut up. Then I found out why. Freddy went ballistic. He said “I’ve been doing music since 1959 and you’re going to tell me how to do it? I am Freddy Fender, the way I do it is the right way.” And he WAS right. Part of Freddy’s trademark sound is his quirky timing and phrasing. That was a big lesson for me too. There is no “right” music, there’s just music the way you want it to sound. Needless to say I never corrected him again.
I was always the youngest member in Freddy’s band. Started with him just after my 30th birthday, and I just turned 40 a couple months ago. It was a real trip to be welcomed into Hispanic circles when I played with him, was not something I was used to. Felt like a big family to me, something I’ve only known since then in church settings.
I’m sure each of the old Freddy Fender band members will be dealing with this in their own way. PT Houston, Vern Monnett, Rhys Clark, Augie Meyers, Chris Jurado and Charlie Rich Jr.
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Thanks Freddy. I know there’s a God. And I know I ain’t him.
Here’s a song I wrote that includes Freddy Fender playing on the guitar solo. Honey Will You Love Me (When There’s No Money in the Bank) is one of the few songs up to that time where I also sang the lead vocal, and one of the only tracks I don’t play on. I usually prefer to use studio vocalists as it’s always fun to see what different life they breathe into a song.
There are some great players on this track. At the time I wrote this song I was playing with Freddy Fender of the Texas Tornados so I was lucky enough to have many of the Tornados players on this track.
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The inspiration for this song was my personal life at the time as well as Auge Meyers. Augie also played with Freddy Fender when I did so I was able to hang with him a lot. He is the true voice of Texas music and using “spanglish” on songs. He is the writer of Hey Baby Que Paso, Guacamole and dozens of other hits. I like the driving 8th note rhythm of “Who Were You Thinking Of” by the Texas Tornados, so I used that vibe for this song. Also incorporated a little “spanglish” and kept the content ideas very simple. It was fun to rhyme “millionaire” with “ran out of beer”, etc. Part of the colloquial charm of a piece like this.
This particular piece has gotten pretty good universal feedback from people. Much of my work is in such specific genres that only people in those genres appreciate it, but this piece seems to have a crossover appeal.
The instrumental tracks were recorded in Las Vegas, NV at the Gold Coast hotel and casino while we were playing there for a week engagement with Freddy. I think drum tracks had already been laid down previously. I lived in Victorville at the time which is just about 3 hours from Vegas, so I actually took a whole truckload of my gear and set it up in the hotel room so I could work during the week. Hotel security got called at one point because of the volume, so we hauled everything down to our dressing room down by the swimming pool and I finished tracking there. Freddy was very nice to play a short solo section on the track.
During that week I got an amazing amount of tracking done. There was a pretty busy karaoke bar at the casino, and I would hire vocalists from there to lay down tracks. The vocalist for my rendition of the Lord’s Prayer was also found there – at a Las Vegas karaoke bar!
This is one song I always hoped a headline artist would pick up.
LYRICS:
Chorus
Honey will you love me when there’s no money in the bank?
Digame baby, c’mon what do you think?
Now I aint much at being elegant
So I’m just askin’ you right up front
Honey will you love me when there’s no money in the bank?
Verse
Now the chica before you, she didn’t treat me so well
Said she loved me, but she meant just for a spell
She looked at me just like a millionaire
But that all stopped when I ran out of beer
So will you say “te llamo” when there’s no money in the bank?
